It's a Fulbright Friday!

INTENT TO APPLY FORM &

Planning for July

As July quickly approaches, a few important notes . . . .

• Intent to apply: To get a sense of how many of you are planning to apply for a Fulbright grant this year to inform our mentorship process, fill out this very brief form.
• Please reach out to your Fulbright recommenders and language evaluators if you have not. Recommenders and evaluators should be given as much time as possible!
• If you're proposing a research project, do not wait to find at least one affiliate site and receive an affiliation letter if your host country requires one.
• All application materials (including recommendations and language evaluations) are due by September 1, 2025, at 12 PM NOON (not midnight) ET.
• Be sure to list "Georgetown University, DC" in the "Institution Type" section of the Fulbright application. Georgetown alumni and current student applicants should do so!
• Finally, there will be no Fulbright Friday on July 4 or July 18 and no Fulbright advising from July 14-18. Please plan ahead by attending one of the Zoom advising open houses or workshops listed below.

CRF-Sponsored Fulbright

Open Houses and Workshops

Fulbright-Sponsored

Webinars

Georgetown Fulbrighter Spotlight

Viktoria Hengelbrok (CAS'23)

English Teaching Assistant - Botswana

From Viktoria Hengelbrok (CAS'23) - "I'm halfway through my grant, and so far the experience has been incredible. I am teaching English Language & Literature to Form 4 and 5s (the equivalent of our high school juniors and seniors) at a secondary school right outside of Botswana’s capital, Gaborone. Although the school has limited resources, its strong academic performance has taught me how to be adaptable and create engaging and effective lesson plans on the spot. I recently took some of my students to the regional spelling bee contest, and every student qualified for the national competition – the winning word: Rhododendron!

"Outside of school, I attend Setswana lessons and often go to my co-teacher's house after school to learn how to make traditional dishes. I've also done some amazing safaris in the northern part of Botswana, where I camped in the Chobe National Park. At night, we could hear lions roaring and woke up to hyena tracks through our camp. I highly recommend traveling to other parts of your host country."

Application Suggestion: "Spend some time reflecting on what you want to prioritize while on your grant. Whether that's your time in the classroom, your supplementary activity, or building community connections. In my case, where I had not been to the region before, I sought advice from previous ETAs to get a sense of how they spent their time and what I should expect. While this was helpful, the reality is that your experience is going to be unique to your circumstances and shaped by your goals. As you write your application, acknowledge the uncertainty of what lies ahead, but focus your essays on what you hope to learn. This will show that you're open, adaptable, and ready to embrace the experience in all its unpredictability."

(Photos: first, Viktoria Hengelbrok; second, Hengelbrok with students and co-teacher Ms. Molokwe, first from left.)

Advising Corner

AFFILIATION LETTERS FOR RESEARCH PROJECTS

If you are applying to conduct a research project, you often must have at least one letter of affiliation. You can have up to three, but each must be relevant to your proposed project.

OVERVIEW

• In general, the letter of affiliation expresses ENTHUSIASTIC support for the project you are proposing, including its feasibility and validity, and outlines the resources (e.g., mentorship, a work area, a computer, laboratory space, access to archives, making community connections) the affiliate site will assist you with during your project.
• The individual or organization you will be engaging with most closely during your proposed grant should provide the affiliation letter for you.
• The affiliation letter – which is not confidential and which you will upload yourself in the application portal – must be written in or translated to English. It must be printed on letterhead with a date and signature.

IMPORTANT

• Each country has its own affiliation requirements, including with whom Fulbrighters can affiliate in the particular location. Please closely read the country’s specific Fulbright landing page for its affiliation requirements.
• "All applicants are required to list a proposed affiliation, with some awards requiring a letter of affiliation to be submitted at the time of the application deadline. . . . Failure to submit a letter of affiliation for an award which requires one at the [October 7, 5 PM ET] national deadline may result in an application being deemed ineligible."
• If the host country does not require a letter of affiliation to be uploaded by October 7, we still encourage you to do so. This means that the application reviewers during the National Screening Committee process (that is, the first round of application review in November-December 2025 to determine if you will become a semi-finalist) will see that you have at least one affiliation in place to provide structure and support for your project.

RESOURCES

• As you are identifying possible affiliations, consult with professors and advisors at Georgetown, review who has been publishing in your interest area, and visit Fulbright's Grantee Directory to identify Fulbrighters who have worked on a closely related project.
• Once you have secured an affiliation or likely interest from an affiliate site, please fill out this form if you wish the Center for Research & Fellowships to provide you with a letter that you can then send to your affiliation contact offering more context about what type of information is included in a Fulbright affiliation letter. 
• Please inform the CRF when you have completed this form by emailing fulbright@georgetown.edu.

It's a Fulbright Friday!